St. Mary's Students help name Morton Hospital robot R2 Knee 2

Thanks to a local fourth-grader, Morton Hospital’s new robotics-assisted orthopedic surgery equipment will be known by the Star Wars-themed name R2 Knee 2.

Gerry Tuoti

Thanks to a local fourth-grader, Morton Hospital’s new robotics-assisted orthopedic surgery equipment will be known by the Star Wars-themed name R2 Knee 2.

St. Mary’s Primary School student Isabella Kiker was recognized Tuesday for winning the contest Morton Hospital held to name the new surgical robot. She joined four of her schoolmates Tuesday to see the machine in person at the hospital.

“It’s so cool,” she said after seeing a brief demonstration of the robotic arm, which is used for partial knee replacements and total hip replacement surgeries for certain osteoarthritis patients.

Morton Hospital, which acquired the machine in November at a cost of approximately $1 million, partnered with St. Mary’s to let a student pick a name for the device, which is formally called a Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System (RIO).

The robotic arm system uses CT images to create digital three-dimensional models of the patients’ joints, which are shown on video monitors. The surgeon guides the arm in a process that allows greater precision than a freehand surgery.

MAKO Surgical Corp., which developed the equipment, calls the procedure MAKO-plasty.

“It’s a more minimally invasive procedure,” Morton Hospital President Kim Bassett said. “ It’s something our orthopedists really believe in … It results in a decreased length of stay for patients. We decided to bring it in because it creates a better outcome for patients who can have the procedure.”

Sean Scully, a MAKO sales manager who provides technical support for the equipment, said procedures done with the machine are quick and accurate while allowing for better balance than traditional surgeries. Using the machine also results in less bone loss and blood loss during surgery and allows surgeons to keep knee ligaments intact, he said.

“It’s reproducible, consistent and precise,” Scully said.

Morton Hospital has three surgeons trained on the RIO system and has performed more than 60 procedures with the device since acquiring it in November.

Worldwide, the RIO was first used in 2006, and has been used in more than 25,000 knee and hip surgeries, Scully said.

Morton Hospital plans to create a plaque for the RIO system bearing the R2 Knee2 name.

While Isabella drew inspiration from the droid R2-D2, a character in the Star Wars films, she doesn’t describe herself as a big fan of the movie franchise.
“I don’t really know how I came up with it,” she said. “I was just thinking of robots from TV shows and movies.”

She was the grand-prize winner in the naming contest. Students from each grade were also recognized for their suggested robot names. First-grader Brian Foster picked the name Bingo; Second-grade student Tyler Rose chose the name Knee Defender; Grade 3 student Allie Madeira suggested Handy Randy; and fifth-grader Gregory Melusky selected the name TIKE (The Intelligent Knee Excelerator).